Current Reading

Typically I write out my thoughts about a book only after I finish the work. But I am reading three books right now that are excellent, so I thought I would provide commentary as I make progress.

Christ Plays In Ten Thousand Places, by Eugene Peterson

Early in the book, Peterson mentions that God is at work around us. God is always at work. In fact the miraculous happens all the time in our daily lives. "The miraculousness of the miracle is obscured by the familiarity of the setting, the ordinariness of the people involved." Lord give me an awareness of your work around me. Peterson says that it is not by fireworks or special effects that God displays his great work, but by His subtle movements around us.

Hidden In Plain Sight, by Mark Buchanan

"Faith has fruit to bear. Faith alone can get us to heaven, but its purpose between now and then is to birth something in us that makes a difference on earth." What am i doing that makes a difference daily on earth? I want to give myself those things that touch eternity. Life is too short to be caught up in those items that don't really matter.

"Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord Almighty." Zechariah 4:6 Of the the person guided by the Spirit Buchanan says, "He pays attention to the Spirit's quiet movements like some men do to the stock market fluctuations and others to sports scores.

Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference, by Philip Yancey

This has been a great read on prayer. Yancey will challenge and inspire. He has given me an opportunity to think deeper about my prayer life.
"In three years of active ministry, Jesus changed the moral landscape of the planet. For nearly two thousand years since, he has been using another tactic: prayer." There is more to our prayers than meet the eye. We live in world that puts so much emphasis on the flash and dance, but Jesus taught us that the quiet, personal, and private moments with God are more desirable.

Temptation

What are you most tempted by? We all deal with temptation. Daily we have choices to make. Temptation takes us all to places that we don't want to go, but lures us with the thought of what might be.
I have been preaching a sermon series over the past few weeks that speaks to this. This series has been challenging me to consider my own temptations and how I process them in my own life. How do I as a "mouthpiece" for God, deal with the struggles in my life with all that I have going on. I struggle just like any man. I must take the varnish off and see that yes I too am fractured in side.
I like the fact the Scriptures tell us that since Jesus suffered when he was tempted that He is able to help us in our time of temptation. Man, do I need it.

The Gospel According to Starbucks

I just finished reading a Leonard Sweet book. I feel as though it could have been said with half of the words, but still a pretty fair read. He frames the book around the philosophy that Starbucks uses in their stores... He says that Starbucks stores are EPIC in nature.

"Live Life On an EPIC Scale"

E - Experiential

P - Participatory

I - Image-Rich

C - Connective

Sweet says that Starbucks knows what it takes to sell a good cup of coffee. They are not just selling coffee they are providing an experience. An experience that the customer can participate in. An experience that is visually stimulating that invites people to connect with others. The experience is not in a Starbucks' store per say, they are in a Starbucks' "living room".

As Sweet goes on, he says that the evangelical community should follow the same pattern. He says that life with God, is "the best part of waking up." Sweet says this is what walking with Jesus is all about... EPIC Lifestyle

Experience - A Christ follower experiences life with Christ.

Participatory - A Christ follower participates with the work of God.

Image-Rich - A Christ follower values the rich images of the Cross.

Connective - A Christ follower connects both with God and others.

Certainly we can gain wisdom and insight from these assertions. This has allowed me to see life through this lens... Ponder these concepts as you go through your day... See just how EPIC your life really is.

good days...

it has been a great day... drive conference has been good, i am very thankful to be here... we had a painter lead worship tonight... it was amazing...
i love to see how God uses different mediums to communicate His love and grace...

check it out... http://www.jesuspainter.com/

i think you'll like it...

God is Green... Are You?

I would say yes... God is green. He does care about the planet. God does have an opinion on how we treat the world we live in...
The problem is that being "green" has become a political issue... a way to find out if someone is liberal or conservative... whether they are democratic or republican... Being green should not be reduced to some arbitrary indicator that reveals a person's political slant...
Being green should be more about caring for the creation that God has provided for us all to enjoy - As a Christian, caring for the environment is a part of my devotion to Him. A tangible way for me to reflect that I care about what I believe God cares about.
So I ask you... Is God Green?

I believe God is Green... Are You?

Spirituality For All The Wrong Reasons

The other day I was reading an article by Eugene Peterson, Spirituality for all The Wrong Reasons, and it got me thinking about why I follow Christ. Am I seeking the heart of Christ for all that He can give me or am I walking in the reality of a true relationship with Him.

I think I am very selfish in my spirituality. It seems that most of us are for that matter. It seems that most of the time all that we humans think about are ourselves.

Tomorrow I will get up and begin looking for ways I can satisfy this drive I have and then I will seek to satisfy my hunger and then I will try to feel important and manipulate a favorable comment or two and that is not even the half of it.

I guess that it comes down to placing our lives before Jesus and asking Him to give us the humility that He displayed on that curiously glorious day He left the friendly confines of Heaven. We would all be better off, the world and all of us in it, if we thought less of ourselves and more about others. Our spirituality would be more on target if Jesus was more the aim...

Book Review - Too Busy Not Pray, by Bill Hybels

Over the past couple of weeks I have been rereading a book that I first read in 1993 as a senior in college. I can remember reading it and thinking, Lord help me never put prayer aside. Well, several years later, I picked it up again because I felt the Lord telling me that I had forgotten just how vital prayer is. The book is an easy read. You could easily read it in a week, but I recommend taking time to just walk through it a little at a time. Don't rush through it, rather take you time and truly practice the discipline of prayer as you read it. Certainly, there are many classics written on the topic of prayer, but Hybels in a very simple way reminded me that prayer is the vehicle by which God releases His power to us. We all want to live lives that are characterized by the power of God, but we seldom take the time to pray. So I encourage you over the next five days to pray every day and experience the difference that it will make in your life. Your circumstances may or may not change in five days, but I know that your life will be affected. God will give you a sense of His nearness... and that is just what we need in world that will never satisfy our soul cravings.